News & Updates

The ninth State of State Courts survey of one thousand registered voters gauged levels of public trust and confidence in our judiciary and broader institutions, with results revealing a decline across the board.

This November, thousands of judges across 38 states find themselves on the ballot, and there is reason to believe that this year judicial races will capture more voter attention than usual.

It was the founders’ vision that we establish a more perfect union, with justice first and foremost in achieving that goal. To do this, we must rebuild our justice system to ensure that people’s needs are realized in an accessible, fair, equitable, and accountable way.

IAALS continues its commitment to ensuring fair, impartial, transparent, and accessible courts through JPE 2.0—a project that will help programs assessing the job performance of judges update their approaches to reflect modern realities, while remaining accurate, trusted, and relevant.

In May 2022, the Minnesota Supreme Court hosted a public hearing on several recommendations to improve the state's Legal Paraprofessional Pilot Project. Speakers in favor and opposition of the recommendations came together for constructive dialogue on tangible ways to improve the program and, ultimately, increase access to legal services.

Last week, IAALS gathered with our partners and friends for our 14th Annual Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner. We were thrilled to welcome people back in person after three years to celebrate this year’s honorees, as well as recognize our collective efforts to build a more accessible, fair, and efficient civil justice system.

This year, the ABA marks Law Day 2022 with the theme of "Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change." Today, we should reflect on the shortcomings of our justice system and worry about the threats to democracy and the rule of law. But we should also celebrate the strides that have been made and the promise ahead.

In February, IAALS and its partners, including the National Conference of Bar Presidents, continued the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel exploring the role of state bars in regulatory reform.

The challenges we face continue to upend our lives. But we cannot go back, so instead we must forge a better future. Our work in 2021, as described in our Annual Report, has moved the needle and opened new doors for those in need of justice.

Our final two Paths to Justice events, focused on racial justice, brought together diverse perspectives and partners to engage in a dialogue around inequities in our civil justice system and how it relates to public trust and confidence. IAALS has published two issue papers highlighting outcomes and key takeaways for the paths forward.

Our data from the US Justice Needs project draws from more than 10,000 surveyed individuals and illuminates the contours of the justice crisis in America—revealing that, while certain groups are disproportionately impacted by justice issues, no socio-demographic group is untouched.

IAALS and HiiL have released the results of our US Justice Needs study, providing data on the justice problems Americans experience and the ways they seek to resolve them. Now that we know what people need help with most, we can begin to chart a new path forward to improve our justice system nationwide.

IAALS and HiiL have completed the first nationwide survey of its size to measure how Americans across a broad range of socio-demographic groups experience and resolve their legal problems. The full US Justice Needs report with the survey results will be released on September 1, with two live webinars presenting the data, reporting on the outcomes, and suggesting solutions.

In June 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court amended its Code of Judicial Conduct to expressly prohibit harassment, retaliation, and other inappropriate workplace behavior. The amendments are part of a more significant effort to restore public trust and confidence in the state’s judicial department after a series of misconduct allegations against judges and other judicial employees.

I am thrilled to have officially joined IAALS as CEO on June 1. With 15 years of unparalleled success, IAALS is stronger than ever—and I look forward to contributing to the innovation and collaboration that are at the heart of its mission.

This month, IAALS and its partners kicked off the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel exploring how judicial leadership can play a critical role in expanding access to legal services and access to justice. The panelists discussed the status of regulatory innovation, how courts and others are seeking to address the problems, and why state supreme courts and the organized bar must start forging solutions now.

In a recent national survey asking about the importance of 12 characteristics of judges, survey respondents indicated that the public prizes a judge's professional qualities above all others, including political qualities—preferences that have obvious relevance for methods of judicial selection.

Following a new law giving the state's governor the sole power to fill mid-term judicial vacancies, former Montana Supreme Court Justice James C. Nelson calls for the implementation of a merit-based judicial selection process to keep Montana’s courts free from partisanship and outside influence.

In March, IAALS wrapped up our Pandemic Positives Speaker Series, bringing together a number of courts and legal service providers who, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, quickly implemented new processes for providing both in-person and virtual services to ensure access to information and assistance.

Over the past year, we have processed three wrenching national experiences. At IAALS, we have imagined the experiences as tests. Because we aspire to advance the American legal system, we have sought to answer these tests together—and for the sake of our shared mission.